Distressed By Niece’s Rape, Delhi Man Takes His Own Life

A man committed suicide in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, two weeks after his visually-impaired niece was allegedly gangraped by their neighbour, reported Hindustan Times (HT).

The man, a cycle-rickshaw driver, was the sole breadwinner of the family. According to the survivor, her uncle was depressed after she was allegedly raped by her neighbour and two other men. He was also infuriated that the police had arrested just one of the three accused and the other two were just let off.

“He was the one running to the police station each time. He wanted all the men involved in the rape to be punished,” said the survivor’s mother.

When I walked out of home at 5 am, I found him hanging from a high branch of a tree. We depended on him for everything. He was the only person in our family who could make calls. My daughter and I can’t even dial 100, we can only receive calls.  

Survivor’s mother

On 4 May, the girl was sitting outside her house. The neighbour, an e-rickshaw driver, allegedly dragged her to his house where two other men were already present and took turns raping her.

The police arrested an e-rickshaw driver, identified as Chotu Pal, after the survivor identified him from his voice. Two others were detained for questioning, but were later let off.

MS Randhawa, DCP (central) had earlier said there was “some confusion”over the identification of the suspects.

“The victim has told the magistrate in her statement that there was only one man. We have gone by her statement and the contents of the FIR,” said the DCP, as quoted by HT.

During the police interrogation when asked how many perpetrators she could identify, the survivor said, “I heard only one of them talking, so the police said there was only one man. There were more people in the shanty, but they weren’t speaking,” she said.

The survivor told HT she now wants to withdraw the rape case and return to her village in Uttar Pradesh because there is no one left in the family to pursue a long legal battle.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times.)

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